Legal salaries continued their slow recovery from the 2012 crash, but a high percentage of lawyers considered leaving their job during the last financial year, according to a new report from recruitment firm Mahlab.
The average increase in private practice salaries for the 2013/14 financial year was 3.8%, a slight increase on the previous year's 3.7%.
Salaries for in-house corporate lawyers increased by an average 3.3% — up from 2.8% in the 2012/13 financial year — resulting in a combined increase for the legal industry of 3.55%.
Mahlab notes that the trend towards purely performance-based remuneration for lawyers below partner level has continued, with some mid-sized and major firms changing their remuneration models at the start of this financial year.
"Such a model increases the onus on employers to manage staff performance and professional development," the report says.
"It also presents opportunities to enhance gender equality, as promotion and salary are determined by performance rather than years of service."
The report says some firms were paying new recruits sign-on bonuses to maintain salary parity — something not seen "since before the GFC".
Disappointment with salary reviews
A stark finding in the report is that 47% of lawyers in private practice considered leaving their role in 2013/14, and 62% were not satisfied with their most recent salary review.
Mahlab's NSW managing director Lisa Gazis told Workplace Express that while many lawyers were happy that the salary freezes from 2012 had ended, they were "somewhat disappointed" at this year's pay outcomes.
"They felt that they had worked really hard and had weathered the storm of the past few years," but the salary review results were "not quite what they wanted".
Despite this, 63% of private practice lawyers reported being satisfied in their current role, and 87% felt secure in their job.
There was good news for partners, with Mahlab reporting that firms were embracing technological advancements to give them more flexibility and work/life balance.
"These developments are critical to retaining key staff. In addition, part time opportunities are increasing among the major and mid firms, which is a positive step — in particular for women in law," the report says.
Gazis said firms were increasingly allowing partners to set up full-time from home, and were relying on other family-friendly initiatives, such as purchased leave.
Sydney still on top
Sydney continues to set the pace for salaries at all levels, and Gazis said this was unlikely to change while it retained its pre-eminent financial and commercial status.
The average annual remuneration for a partner in a major Sydney firm is $1.38m, according to the report, compared to $1.335m in Melbourne and $1.3m in Perth.
The figures include superannuation but exclude "bonuses and other benefits".
Top level senior associates in major Sydney firms average $250,000, within a range of $185,000 to $320,000. In Melbourne, the average is $200,000 (between $160,000 and $300,000).
First year lawyers in Sydney's big firms can expect to pull in $81,000 on average, compared to $78,000 in Perth, $75,000 in Melbourne, $72,000 in Brisbane and $59,000 in Adelaide.
The report also includes breakdowns for mid-sized and small commercial CBD firms.